EMCFD Fire Station 154 opens with help from late WWII veteran’s family

By Meagan Ellsworth

Published
11:01 am CDT, Monday, July 9, 2018

Firefighters from around Montgomery County and community members gathered to celebrate the grand opening of Fire Station 154 on FM 1485 West on Saturday, July 7, 2018, in Conroe.

Firefighters from around Montgomery County and community members gathered to celebrate the grand opening of Fire Station 154 on FM 1485 West on Saturday, July 7, 2018, in Conroe.

Photo: Jason Fochtman, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle

Photo: Jason Fochtman, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle

Image
1of/9

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 9

Firefighters from around Montgomery County and community members gathered to celebrate the grand opening of Fire Station 154 on FM 1485 West on Saturday, July 7, 2018, in Conroe.

Firefighters from around Montgomery County and community members gathered to celebrate the grand opening of Fire Station 154 on FM 1485 West on Saturday, July 7, 2018, in Conroe.

Photo: Jason Fochtman, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle

EMCFD Fire Station 154 opens with help from late WWII veteran’s family

1 / 9

Back to Gallery

East Montgomery County Fire Department officially opened Station 154’s bay doors Saturday morning with a little help from a late World War II veteran’s family.

Dozens of people rode in with the Taylor’s Organization community rally on their motorcycles for a grand celebration of the new roughly 4,900 square foot station at 16621 FM 1485 West in Conroe. The Montgomery County Emergency Services District 7 station is located next door to Caney Creek Apostolic Church and near the intersection where Texas 242 will be expanded to four lanes.

EMCFD Captain and Public Information Officer Eran Denzler said Station 154 is anticipated to be the busiest out of five stations and that it is expected to reduce response times by about five minutes.

“They always say minutes matter-- it’s actually seconds that matter,” Denzler said. “We like to count seconds and we want to be the fastest we can to their homes.”

He estimates the area already receives about three calls a day, including car crashes, fires and medical calls. The station is anticipated to enhance fire protection in the FM 1485 West and Texas 242 area.

“We had a fire last night right down the road from this station,” EMCFD Fire Chief Howard Rinewalt said. “It beat us by one day. Hopefully that will improve moving forward.”

The station was constructed by Grossman Design/Build. It features two apparatus bays, an engine and a high water truck with another engine currently being built to hold 3,300 gallons of water. Denzler shared the new engine will be a benefit for the area that has a limited number of fire hydrants.

It will be staffed with three paid fire fighters with three shifts around the clock. It includes a large open area as a kitchen and day room, fitness room, and quarters for up to four personnel.

Denzler and Rinewalt shared home owners within five miles of the station may be able to save 20 to 40 percent on their insurance because of the new station’s staffing and response time reduction. According to information from MCESD7, many residents in the area experienced elevated insurance premiums due to the distance from the fire station at FM 1485 and Bowden Drive. The new station is funded by tax payers and will continue to grow as the tax base grows, fire officials said.

“We are excited to have a station staffed at this end of the district and to provide a faster response time,” said Station 154 A-Shift Captain Kyle Foster before the ceremony. “It’s going to be the same people you’ve always known—just faster and closer.”

Emergency Services District No. 7 President Jan Peterson and her fellow board members, Montgomery County Fire Marshal Jimmy Williams, Montgomery County Sheriff Rand Henderson, members of Porter, Caney Creek, Needham and Plum Grove fire departments were among the crowd applauding as the fire officials disconnected a fire hose instead of cutting a ribbon.

The ceremony featured several recognitions including plaques that were presented by State Representative Will Metcalf, R-Conroe and the Taylor’s Organization, to show support for the fire department and first responders. The event also included a fire truck push-in, walk through tours, refreshments, and more.

But fire officials say Station 154 was made possible most of all by the Reddick family, who was commended with a plaque during the ceremony.

The 2.4 acres of land where the fire station stands has been in the family since 1947, where a homestead was built by a hammer, saw, and the hands of the late World War II U.S. Marine Corp Veteran, Forrest L. Reddick Jr., who the family said was wounded in the war and a lone survivor of an attack but never received a Purple Heart.

His son, Todd Mission resident and Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy Forrest L. Reddick Jr. III, 52, who graduated from Conroe High School in 1984 and is a U.S. Navy veteran that served in Operation Desert Storm, sold the land around 2013, which gave Station 154 its new home.

Standing next to his wife Karen and daughter Jessica, he shared his father’s property was originally five acres, but his father also provided the other half to the church next door.

“My dad supported the church, the fire station and the United States—he did a good job.,” Reddick Jr. III said.

As far his hope for the future of the land, he said the fire station is a good start to help the community that it has been a part of for so long.

“That’s all I know dad would have wanted was to help his community, and without knowing it-- this is how he did it.” Reddick said. “Some of the best things are done without knowing it.”

“It’s closure for the Reddick family here and an opening for fire station 154,” he added.